just miss kim

belated national scrapbook day wishes

I had a great time on Saturday. Dan finished painting our living room, so I took the laptop and holed up in our bedroom. I did some digi-scrap shopping (OK, I did a lot of digi-scrap shopping), and then indulged my inner anal-retentive self by going through all my digi-scrap files and making sure they were named according to the same format.

It does make me so happy to go into my hard drive and see everything lined up and looking pretty.

While I was shopping and organizing and later even scrapping, I had the Haygoods Ultimate Collection DVD running. Then I watched some DVR'd stuff. Followed by yet another viewing of 27 Dresses. After that got over, XMen 3 was starting and I couldn't resist the urge to see Mr. Marsden one more time.

Total excitement, huh?

Oh, somewhere in there, Dan said he wanted Mexican for lunch (which never happens!) so we went into town to find some Mexican. Ended up at a little fast food place where we all ate for under $18. Adult combos, too. Again, something that never happens.

Stopped at Target because Dan needed new sunglasses and he'd seen a pair there he liked. I have no idea why he didn't just buy them when he saw them, but he's a man, and sometimes that fact explains all. Decided to just buy our groceries there, because we were there. Actually kept the bill pretty low. I'm doing great with the whole meal planning thing, but that's another blog entry.

All in all, it was a moderately boring, but very indulgent way to spend my Saturday. I got to do exactly what I wanted to do. And here's a layout to prove it:

Over Spring Break, Dan and Brady got in the habit of talking like Hillbillies. It started when we were walking through the log cabins at a campground, and continued off and on for the whole trip.

Since then, they have --- blessedly -- laid off the whole accent/hillbilly thing.

Last night, Dan and I were off on our nightly walk. Usually we get one or sometimes both of the girls to go with us. Last night, we were lucky and all 3 of our children joined us.

Or maybe not so lucky.

We weren't 2 blocks from home when the men in my life slipped into the accent. And kept it up for a mile and a half.

At one point, Brady was riding Chesney's scooter and singing the theme song from "Blue's Clues." Just picture that for a moment -- my almost 14 year old, starting to grow facial hair, son. Riding a scooter fitted for an 8 year old and singing Blue's Clues with a terrible accent. I told him it scared me a little that he knew all the words.

"I watched Blue's Clues until I was 10, ma. I think I know the words. I'd be scared if I didn't."

Really, do I deserve this?

I am trying so hard to remember all the little things that they did that were both annoying and amusing. Dan's delight at the dog's short, fat shadow. Brady antagonizing his sister so much that she ended up a half mile in front of us. Dan and Ches playing catch during the whole walk.

I usually use the walk to wind down from my day. To relax and get back into family mode. Last night's walk was not the stress reliever it usually is. Just as we were reaching home, Brady says, "This has been a most refreshing adventure. I think I'll do it again tomorrow."

Aagh. I love this kid, and this is part of the reason why, but seriously.... my walk! I want it back.

And does anyone want to guess how annoying 2 weeks in the woods at the log cabin are going to be?

cook it Thursday

I love Sloppy Joes. I mean, really, totally love sloppy joes. It's a trial of my adult life that my husband does not enjoy the sloppy joe as much as I, nor does he like onions and peppers (because, really, how can you make a good sloppy joe without onions and peppers?). One of the first recipes I ever made was Colorado Sloppy Joes, which came from a cookbook way older than me and originally you had to cook it on the stove top for hours. It is the most yummy sloppy joe recipe ever.

With Dan, I'm pretty much stuck just using Manwich. Last night, however, I got creative.

Potato Topped Sloppy Joe Casserole

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 can Manwich/Sloppy Joe sauce
2 cups prepared instant mashed potatoes (I know... but I use them in recipes)
1 cup sour cream
1 egg, beaten
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix ground beef and sauce and spread in the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Prepare mashed potatoes according to package directions. [Actually, I used a box of the Betty Crocker Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. I followed the directions for preparing both packets, but left out about a half cup of water.] Mix sour cream and egg into prepared potatoes. Spread over the top of the meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

And ok, I didn't have any sour cream because I'd forgotten what I needed it for, and threw it into a casserole the night before. I make a lot of casseroles, and am always throwing in some sour cream. Sour cream makes everything better. Anyway, in a pinch, I used some french onion dip. The family was in love. Simple, but we liked it.

I am really boring

During the week, I lead a very boring life. My coworkers tease me because it's so boring. We stick close to home and have a pretty staid routine.

Last night, we just busted right out of that routine. We went wild and crazy and walked down to the local grocery store and rented 2 movies.

And watched them both!

I know, you're shocked at just how wild we get when we let our hair down.

The first movie that we rented was "The Water Horse", which I did not watch. Dan and the girls watched it while I bought a couple of shirts online and did my ab exercises.

The one I did watch was "27 Dresses." It was nice to rent it for less than $1, but I'm definitely buying this one. In general, I'm not a chick flick fan, but this one was just too fun. We actually saw it over Spring Break in Branson, and but I needed to see it again last night. Chesney was so upset when she realized that the dress scene was going to happen after her bedtime, so I might have to watch it again tonight.

Of course, the best thing about 27 Dresses is James Marsden. He is definitely my latest eye candy crush. He's so cute, and he can sing too! He needs another musical, don't you think? Watching 27 Dresses totally has me in the mood to watch Hairspray again.

Tonight, it's back to the old boring routine. America's Next Top Model, Ghost Hunters, and CSI:NY. I'm making a casserole for dinner. Don't you wish you lived the exciting life like me? ;)

P.S. Since I took my eye candy down, here's a little to get you through the week:

just 2

I really have not felt well since January. I'll feel like I'm getting better, then it hits back even harder. This weekend, it was the cold/cough back at me. I spent all day Sunday in bed. Hating that I didn't feel better, but wanting to get the rest I needed so that I could feel better.

But that's not really the point of this post. The point is that while I was laying in bed, I managed to get 2 layouts done for this week. One is just a fun layout I did by randomly picking a photo:

The other was for a designer who I adore, Dianne Rigdon. Dianne's was one of my first creative teams, and I'm so happy to be back working with her again. This layout uses some of her newest kit, Damask Dream.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

final transformation

Just to refresh your memory, here's what I looked like over Spring Break:

And here's what I look like now:

Hahahahaha. Just kidding. That's what I look like now after I blow dry and before I style it. Here's what I really look like:

It's a wee bit too short right now, but I know in a week or so I'm going to really love it. I've got to get used to styling it. This is really where I wanted to go. Love not having a lot of hair!

Have a blessed Monday!

party at the shabby shoppe

For many digital scrapbookers, we owe Shabby Princess a lot for getting us started in digital scrapbooking. One of the first layouts I did used SP's kits. Just for giggles, here's that layout; I think it was my 4th digital layout ever:

And here's some of the layout I did with the new releases at the Shabby Shoppe:

Stop by The Shabby Shoppe
and check out the products and sale. Kristie is still one of the most generous designers out there!

shop til ya drop

Last weekend, my mom came down and took Mykiah on a birthday shopping trip. The girl makes me laugh. She stuffed the sack at Old Navy (for an additional percentage off), spend a birthday giftcard at Limited Too, and was in heaven when she went to a huge store selling just accessories. My mom sent me this picture of Mykiah in the mall parking lot a few days ago, and I just had to share:

She has had so much fun wearing all her new stuff this week. Quite the excitement for my almost teenaged girl.

Have a great weekend! I have today off, and plan to pamper myself a bit, then relax and do nothing at all!

addicted to Etsy

I am spending way too much time just window shopping at Etsy lately. Monday night, I was chatting and more than half my time I was at Etsy, totally ignoring the conversation but just letting my eyes feast on the many varied, fun offerings at Etsy. I just had to share this screenshot of my favorites page:

I love to just click on someone's favorites and then find my way around the site, discovering new treasures. If you'd like to check out my favorites, they are here. If you're an Etsy shopper (or window shopper like me), leave me a link to your favorite store. I'd love to check it out.

scooters

Sunday morning, Mykiah went out and got our paper, then come running to me. Target has scooters on sale for $19, and apparently she's always wanted one. We ended up buying 2 -- one for Kiah and one for Ches. They spent the afternoon riding them. Kiah's a little more... balanced than Ches, but the girl is certainly trying.